When we first started thinking about growing our family, we knew that cost would be an important factor. Though we both have great full-time jobs, we are extremely budget-conscious and have to be careful with our money. Browsing baby registries online did nothing to ease my anxiety about cost; we could easily spend over $30,000 getting set up for baby if Pinterest had anything to say about it.

Quite a few things contributed to our ability to have a baby inexpensively. First, we live in Canada, which means we did not have to worry about the costs of labour and delivery (costs that can be a major consideration for many American families). Second, Little Oats was the first grandchild across the board, so we were gifted quite a few things that others may have had to purchase. Third, the Universal Child Care Benefit is available for all Canadian families with children under age 6, so that’s around $1000/year to help with Little Oats.

I’ve broken down the costs of Little Oats’ first year of life by category. We were gifted many things by generous family and friends, however I’ve included the cost of these items for comparison’s sake.

Gear: $1657

I used the Hellobee registry guides, as well as sites like Lucie’s List to determine what I might need (versus what I would like). Gear included the Britax B-Agile stroller and the B-Safe car seat (both generously gifted by family), a pack-n-play, a K’Tan carrier, toys, blankets, a Bumbo seat, baby bathtub… all of that good stuff. We borrowed a swing, a play mat and a bouncer chair, but I would buy them in a heartbeat the next time around. If I’m being totally honest, Mr. O and I spent maybe $350 on gear; the rest came from our baby showers.

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Nursery: $1043

Though I was incredibly tempted by my nursery-inspiration boards on Pinterest, setting up a nursery on a budget meant that the $1700 modern crib I wanted, or the $1500 upholstered glider were out of reach. I’ll write a separate post about nurseries on a budget – but we managed to pull together a perfect little grey-and-purple space for Little Oats for just about $1000. This included a crib and mattress, plenty of storage, paint, wall decals, a few special projects, and refinishing the rocker that my MIL rocked Mr. O in as a baby.

Breastfeeding Supplies: $414

We were incredibly blessed to have an easy time breastfeeding. Little Oats latched like a champ, and though I dealt with  an overactive letdown to start, we had very little trouble establishing an amazing breastfeeding relationship. Our doula helped immensely with the initial learning curve of breastfeeding; if it weren’t for her, we could have incurred the cost of hiring a lactation consultant. Because I was at home with Little Oats for a year, I only pumped occasionally, very rarely used bottles, and was fortunate that one container of Earth Mama Angel Baby nipple balm was enough. I also invested in reusable nursing pads; they cost about $40 up front, but I’ve been able to use them daily for an entire year.

Solid Food: $345

I had big plans to make all of my own baby food and freeze it for the year ahead. We were given a Baby Bullet, and purchased all of the food storage containers, a baby-food cookbook, and several other materials (our high chair was a gift). This cost could have been even lower if I were psychic… Little Oats refused all pureed food, so our fancy blender and delicious baby food went to waste.

Diapers and Wipes: $486
After blowing through a few gifted boxes of Pampers Swaddlers, we switched to the Kirkland brand diapers and wipes from Costco. Thankfully, we have never had problems with sensitivity, (many) blowouts, or the fit of the Kirkland diapers; they come in at an easy $33 per box of 210. We saved on diaper rash cream and powder by signing up for programs like Nestle Baby; I still have samples of Penaten and Sudocrem stockpiled for the next baby.

Clothing: $400

We shop almost exclusively secondhand for Little Oats. We are fortunate to have some awesome consignment stores in town, and Nana Oats has eagle-eyes for bargains. The benefit to buying baby clothes secondhand is pretty clear; babies grow so fast, even second- or third-hand items are practically brand new. Also, when you look for quality secondhand pieces (think brand names that hold up well), you can often sell them back to the consignment stores or trade for bigger sizes. Though I budget about $25/month for Little Oats’ closet, I often break even with my trade-in items.

(Little Oats’ closet; stocked almost entirely from the local secondhand stores)

TOTAL: $4315

Did any costs surprise you in your little one’s first year? Did you also feel the pressure to buy every gadget on the market?